Biology

Sandshrew blending in with its surroundings

Physiology

Sandshrew is a tailed bipedal, ground-dwelling pholidote notable for its defensive capabilities. Its body is mostly covered in a dry, tough hide, which is colored to blend in with the sands of the desert. It can curl into a tight ball about the same size as a basketball to protect its soft underbelly. Its primary weapons are the small but sharp claws on its paws, which are also useful for burrowing and can sometimes be poisonous.

Gender differences

None.

Special abilities

Sandshrew's special abilities are extremely limited compared to other Pokémon. It has a greater control over the ground and sand than the average Pokémon, mostly derived from adaptation to its habitat.

Behavior

In the wild, Sandshrew are mostly defensive by nature. They spend much of their time hidden underground in their burrows and will kick up sand or instantly roll into a ball to escape predators. They may venture out to hunt, taking advantage of the desert sands to hide themselves.

However, with the help of a Trainer, a Sandshrew can become bolder and much more daring, and can even be trained to swim despite the fact that the water weakens them. They are still fond of curling up, though, even if not for defense. Although Sandshrew are usually bipedal, they are able to run on all fours.

Habitat

Disliking water, Sandshrew are adapted to dry, arid areas. Thus, they can be commonly found in deserts and grasslands, and sometimes in river valleys or the upper levels of caves as well. For the cave varieties, they also dry up if exposed to concentrated doses of light, particularly lights strung together in the cave. Wherever they are, they live underground in deep burrows. It can be found in Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, but it is hardy enough to survive in Orre and can occasionally be found in Sinnoh as well.

In the anime

Major appearances

Sandshrew was first featured in The Path to the Pokémon League. It was owned by a Pokémon Trainer named A.J.. Despite A.J.'s seemly barbaric training methods (e.g. using a whip, training in a pool), it was very loyal to him.

Minor appearances

Ash Ketchum and Pikachu pass three Sandshrew in Pokémon, I Choose You! while being chased by a flock of wild Spearow.

An ailing Sandshrew is seen briefly near the beginning of Clefairy and the Moon Stone. It was seen lying down, which Seymour described as it "drying out" because of the significant increase of light sources inside Mt. Moon.

Trivia

Sandshrew and Sandslash share the same species name with Rattata, Raticate, Pikachu, and Raichu. They are all known as the Mouse Pokémon, though Rattata and Raticate have also been called Rat Pokémon. However, neither shrews, armadillos nor pangolins (all of which Sandshrew has been based on) are actually rodents.

Origin

Sandshrew is based on the pangolin, a mammal that curls up into a ball, has sharp claws, and lives in desert regions. Both Sandshrew and Sandslash are mentioned to have poisonous claws, similar to how some species of the shrew are poisonous.

Name origin

Sandshrew is a combination of sand and shrew (a small rodent-like mammal).